While presenting the state budget 2022-23 in the Rajasthan Assembly, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the implementation of the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Scheme for employment in urban areas, with the objective of helping those affected by the pandemic. The scheme will incur an expenditure of Rs 800 crore.
The scheme will guarantee 100 days of employment in a year to job seekers in the urban areas.
Also, henceforth, 125 days of employment will be guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme, which will call for an estimated expenditure of Rs 750 crore.
Rajasthan has followed Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu in bringing an urban employment scheme into effect. Kerala, however, has had such an employment guarantee scheme in place since 2011. The Rajasthan government has also fulfilled the demand of government employees for old-age pension scheme.
The Rajasthan government’s Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme, which was rolled out in 2021, will now offer increased health cover. Earlier, it was Rs 5 lakhs and now it is Rs 10 lakh per family per year. Additionally, all state-run hospitals will offer IPD and OPD services free.
As per the budget, the tourism and hospitality sector will now be recognised as a separate industry in Rajasthan.
The Government of Rajasthan will soon introduce an act to regulate online gaming in the state.
